Im saving up to go back to europe this august. My plan is to hit the sziget festival in budapest in august, then valencia for tomatina, and finally octoberfest in september before trying to settle down and teaching english. I currently teach esl at the local language school in my hometown, by the time i leave i should have about 90 hrs of in-class teaching expirience. what i need to know, is where do i have the best chance of finding work and getting a visa to work and live. My two Preferences are Berlin and Budapest. Ive been reading a lot of discouraging posts about getting a residence visa in germany, due to EU restrictions. what i dont understand is that companies have to prove that they can’t fill a position with an EU citizen before giving someone else the job, but for english teaching, english immersion is the main ingredient and native speakers obviously are the best candidates, does that change the chances of getting a visas, or am i still out of luck?

also, if berlin is out, what are my chances of being able to work and live comfortably and get a visa for budapest to teach? By live comfortably, i mean… have an apartment, and enough money to perhaps take weekend trips to other parts of europe.

what i dont understand is that companies have to prove that they can’t fill a position with an EU citizen before giving someone else the job, but for english teaching, english immersion is the main ingredient and native speakers obviously are the best candidates, does that change the chances of getting a visas, or am i still out of luck?

Uh, there are a fair number of native English speakers in UK and Ireland, both members of the EU. Also, I think certification in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) may be more helpful for what you’re trying to do than ESL.

I’m sure you’re a great guy or gal and all, but please don’t come here to work. Every backpacker (with rich parents usually who can make up the difference…)coming through town willing to work for €10 an hour screws people like me who have to make a living at this dumb job….

I could’ve lied and just said it’s impossible..

You won’t make a lot of money anywhere in Europe teaching English anyway. And honestly, Berlin is worse than most places. Why? Because it’s inundated with US and British spouses with nothing else to do but teach English for €10 an hour. Berlin is a GREAT city – one of my faves. I originally wanted to move there. But the pay for the job I was offered was ludicrous – back then it was 21 Marks an hour – ten Euros about.. Berlin is notoriously bad for teaching English. The pay is significantly lower than average, and you’d have to spend probably 2-3 hours a day(easily…) on public transportation going to and fro..

You won’t make a lot of money in Budapest either, frankly. And you sure as h.eck won’t make enough to be able to travel in Western Germany.

For decent money teaching Enlish, Japan was good 20 years ago, the Middle East 10 years ago. Maybe Taiwan now…

Hmm, I’ve never thought of teaching English in Berlin but if you do, how is the german pension plan system compared to the one in the US? Does anyone have some information about it? Would be greatly appreciated.

The public pension system in the United States (called social security) is very bare-bones minimal. Most people hope to get a job that provides a decent pension plan through private sector means; some employers provide decent even sometimes excellent plans (although some people’s pensions have been wiped out through corporate financial mismanagement); other times, there’s a decent pension plan provided by a labour or trade union; other jobs provide absolutely nothing. Realistically, there is no safety net for people who had their savings wiped out, or weren’t able to get a decent plan from their job (social security just doesn’t pay out a liveable income). Most of those who earn enough during their working years to set some money aside, will save money on their own or invest it (and there’s companies that specialize in retirement accounts), with the hopes that their saved money will go far after retirement (or that they’ll never have to borrow from themselves before retirement).

In Germany, as in most of Europe, the public pension system is funded by the working-age population, but what you receive is also based on how much you put into the system before you retired. It’s not riches, but it’s decent, and a significantly better safety net than in the United States. Some jobs also offer private supplemental pension plans, but participation in the public system is mandatory.

I think you’re hoping for too much but it would worth a try. You’re right native English people should have an advantage in getting a job for teaching English but that’s not a guarantee you’ll get a good job. Besides actual English teaching you should also focus on accent reduction training, this kind of training is highly valued in Europe. I hope I could help you.